State asks for delay in demolition of Amona

Brief filed to request six month delay in demolition of oldest West Bank outpost in West Bank near Ofra settlement.

Amona outpost 370.
(photo credit:Baz Ratner/Reuters)

The state filed a brief on Sunday night asking the High Court of Justice for an
additional six-month delay to demolish the Amona outpost, located on the
outskirts of the Ofra settlement in the Binyamin region.

In May, the
court gave the state six months to schedule and complete the demolition of the
outpost.

Yesh Din, who filed the petition to compel the outpost’s
demolition, said the state’s conduct was “scandalous” and showed it would throw
out any answer to try to “hold onto stolen land” from the Palestinians in the
area.

The state has long consented that the outpost is built on private
Palestinian land, and the demolition was due to be completed in the next
week.

The state cited several reasons for the necessary delay, but a
primary one was to avoid a physical confrontation.

Built around 1995,
Amona is one of the oldest outposts in the West Bank.

It is best known,
however, for the clashes that took place there on February 1, 2006, when the IDF
and the police demolished nine permanent homes that were built there without
proper permits.

Some 200 soldiers, police officers, settlers and
activists were injured when protesters took a stand inside the homes, and
refused to leave until they were forcibly evacuated.